1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to door intercom devices, and more particularly pertains to a door intercom device of the type adapted to provide an additional measure of security to the occupants of a residential or commercial dwelling. A common mode employed by criminals to perpetrate robbery as well as other more serious crimes involves ringing the doorbell of a dwelling, or knocking upon the door. The criminal then initiates a conversation with the dwelling occupant, necessitating a slight opening of door by the occupant to facilitate the conversation. At this point, the criminal throws their weight against the door, forcing the door open and allowing easy access to the dwelling. In an attempt to overcome this problem, a variety of locking devices have been proposed in the prior art which allow the door to be only slightly open. The most common of these locks, a chain-type device, employs a relatively small sized chain having an end portion removably attachable in a bracket secured either to the door or the door frame. A typical method of securement is by the use of relatively small sized screws. Accordingly, when the criminal throws their weight against the door, the typical chain locking devices are either broken or the locking chain mounting brackets are torn from the door or door frame. Thus, there is a need for a more secure manner of allowing a dwelling occupant to conduct a conversation with an individual disposed on the exterior side of a door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of intercom systems are known in the prior art for allowing a dwelling occupant to converse with an individual located remotely of the building, or the dwelling door. These conventional intercom systems require a great deal of work to install, frequently necessitating modification of the dwelling door and the installation of wiring through the exterior dwelling structure. As a result, such conventional intercom systems are relatively expensive, and impossible to transport to another location after initial installation.